


Act IV Home

by JessKo2000 (JessKo)



Series: Dead Weight [4]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-24
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-10-15 09:49:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17526452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JessKo/pseuds/JessKo2000
Summary: After a near death experience, a trip to the past can really put things in perspective.Jess learns new secrets about her family, and discovers a bond might be deeper than it originally seemed.Back on her feet, it is time for a new trial: The Chunin Exams!





	1. Family

**Author's Note:**

> AKA My own twist on the Road to Ninja film: Road to Past!

Where did that darn thing go? All of the sudden, Samehada just disappeared, gone into the night. I was just released from the hospital today, and now this! Sigh... I guess I can't get a break. Combing the village, I still couldn’t find it! Every alley had been scanned, each storefront searched. Widening my search radius, I headed next towards the academy. On approach, I suddenly felt a familiar chakra wash over me.

Was it… Tobi? I found the source on the playground, looking gloomier than usual even through the mask. Under his foot was a struggling Samehada.

“I see you found us. Took you long enough, we were just starting to have fun!” he said, barely glancing at me.

“Give it back!” I screamed and Samehada flailed but was stopped short when a heel was dug further down into its spikes.

“Don’t misbehave now,”

“You stop that right now!” I charged but was stopped short by a red eyed glance.

“Haha… Why are we fighting over such a frivolous thing when there are more… Pressing matters at hand,” He never lost his uncharacteristically cool composure. I had never seen this side of Tobi.

“Continue…” I said cautiously, waiting for my chance.

“Ah, well, I have something I want to test out, and you seemed like the perfect subject. Someone I know but is no longer my comrade. Now isn’t that just the kind of person you would want?”

“Want for what?” Calming down, I decided I would have to treat this situation very carefully.

“You’ll see…”

I was suddenly sucked into a dark void, thrown around in nothingness for an eternity… Or was it just a second? That didn’t matter; all I know is that I hit the ground with a thud.

 

 

“Are you ok?” a nervous voice asked. Facing the floor, I pushed myself over with weak arms. I looked up to see a young boy with long, sleek black hair peering over his bed at me.

“Ugh… Where am I?” I asked, gingerly sitting up. Looking out the window, it looked like it was the morning, and he must have just woken up.

“In my room… In Konoha… You know, the Leaf, in the land of fire. Are you hurt?” I realized that I had just been staring at him and shook my head to get out of a daze.

“Uh, yeah, I’m fine. Just a little confused.”

“Me to. I mean, on how you got in here.”

“Same here…” I stood up to get a look around, and everything in this room was crazy tall. I mean, sense when were the bottoms of windows up to your shoulders. Soon, though, my legs gave out and I crashed on the bed. The boy scooted over to make room so I could sit. I then looked across the room and saw a mirror. What I saw in it horrified me.

I was back to being my ten year old self, but still wore clothes made for someone much older. I looked down to see my weights lying on the floor, my arms must have slid out of them, and no wonder I couldn’t stand. My leg weights slipped off as soon as I thought this and they made a deep crash when they hit the ground.

“What’s going on in there?” shouted a voice.

“Nothing, Dad!” the boy replied.

“Alright, but it’s time to get ready for school!”

“Ok! I’ll be out in a few!”

School… He must go to the academy. Jumping off the bed, he went over to the dresser with the mirror and opened a drawer.

“Well, I have to get ready…”

“There’s a closet calling your name,” I said pointing behind me, and my comment was met with a little giggle. “And I’ll be borrowing some clothes if that’s cool with you…”

“Yeah, sure!” He said, tossing me a green wad of clothes as he walked into the closet. Not wanting to risk it, I decided I would also be changing in the closet. But what walked out of the closet shocked me more than the thought of the boy walking out on me changing.

He walked out wearing the green jumpsuit and orange legwarmers I had grown so accustom to over the years, and it hit me that the eyebrows should have been a dead giveaway.

“Gai?” I asked, slightly confused about the hairstyle.

“You got it!” He said with a wink, “But I have to ask, how did you know that?”

“Later. Fist, I’m going to need the closet.”

“Oh yeah, I’ll, uh, be in the, urm… bathroom,” Why was he suddenly so nervous, and blushing?

“Sounds good,” I said, shutting the door behind him. I unraveled the cluster of green spandex and took a deep breath. Anything was better than the five sizes too big getup I was currently wearing, and I suddenly realized what the blushing was for. My belt had slid off and my shirt was wide open. “Well… Here goes nothing!”

I make this look good! This is what I had to tell myself when walking out of Gai’s room, although it felt more like a walk of shame. I wandered out to find myself in a kitchen. There was a man flipping pancakes at the stove, wearing the same thing as me and Gai, although I swapped out the scarf with the red headband now around my waist, extra tight.

“Gai, you are going to be late for break- who are you?” He turned around to something he was definitely not expecting.

“Hi, um, you must be Gai’s dad.”

“Yeah…” Then, Gai came running into the room.

“Uh, Dad, this is… *What did you say your name was?*” Gai whispered. Knowing he would meet me again, I decided to give a code name.

“I’m… Sam. Sam Hada.”

“Well, Sam, it’s a pleasure to meet you! And, may I say, you have quite a youthful sense of style!”

The rest of the morning went on without a hitch. Gai’s Dad, or Dai, was pretty cool and never once asked why I was there or where I came from. And I definitely saw where Gai inherited his youthfulness!

After a great breakfast, we headed out for the academy. When we arrived, and just barely on time at that, Gai sat exactly where I used to, or would in about 12 years. I sat next to him, and as soon as I did a boy with a mask and spikey white hair walked it.

“Looks like you’re sitting somewhere else today, Kakashi!” Announced Gai triumphantly.

“Hi there… Watch out for that- and there’s a-” Forget it. There was no talking to him in that daze. Kakashi was walking to the back of the room with a stunned expression, never taking his eyes off of me, even after walking into another student and a chair.

“What’s his deal?” I asked quietly.

“Oh, that’s just Kakashi, my eternal rival.” Gai said the ‘eternal rival’ part with extra emphasis. “He is also now my personal slave and owes me a million bucks!”

“Oh really?” I asked, intrigued.

“Yeah! He bet me that I could never get a girl to sit with me by her own will, and here you are!”

I just laughed at that! I could only imagine that under any other circumstances, Kakashi would have surely won that bet. It definitely takes a special person to handle Gai’s type, and this very occasion reminded me of when I met Lee. Thank goodness that seat next to me was empty, or else I would have probably just treated him like the others, not having the chance to get to know him. I can only imagine what could have happened then…

Half expecting Iruka to be at the front of the classroom, I turned around to see a bald guy I had never seen before. And his lecture was even more boring that Iruka’s were, if that was even possible.

It was finally time for lunch, and I followed Gai out to the courtyard, getting several confused stares along the way. What? Had they never seen a girl in an action suit before? Probably not… We sat at one of the tables and a still slightly dazed Kakashi sat across from me.

Seeing that he wasn’t about to start a conversation, I decided that I would. “Hi Kakashi. I’m Sam!”

“And I would like an orange.” Said Gai, and I stepped on his foot under the table. Kakashi reached into his lunch, though, and tossed Gai an orange.

“You’re not really doing the whole ‘personal slave’ thing, are you?” I asked, expecting more from Kakashi.

“Well, a bet is a bet, and it’s the least I can de sense I don’t have a million bucks sitting around.” Gai nearly spit out the orange slice he was eating when he heard this.

“What do you mean? You just said a bet is a bet”

“Yeah, but I never expected to lose…”

“But you did!” I could see that Gai was about to lose it as he pointed at Kakashi across the table, who never even looked up. I guess I forgot that they were still kids.

“Calm down…” I said in an attempt calm Gai down. It didn’t work.

“You want to fight?” shouted Gai, standing up.

“You should really listen to you girlfriend…” said Kakashi, not even acknowledging Gai’s blatant challenge. The comment along with this fact was enough to get involved. I realized just how much I hated people like this.

“What did you just say!?”

“Hm. Same outfit, same temper. I guess I shouldn't have assumed you were the sane one… ”

“That’s it! You know, Kakashi, I really don’t like your attitude!”

“Yeah!”

“You’re not off the hook either, Gai!” Finally Kakashi stood up with a little snigger. Man, this kid was an arrogant little brat! Seeing the opportunity, both of them charged the other, but I trapped them in separate water prisons before any damage was done.

“Calm. Down.”

There were a few moments of silence, but then I noticed that they were staring right behind me and turned around. The bald guy was standing there, walking over.

“What is going on here?” I could tell he wasn’t happy. Crap.

“Well, you see, these two were about to fight so…”

“So you are trying to kill them?” I turned back around to see Kakashi grabbing his neck and Gai just floating, looking a little blue. I quickly released the jutsu and the two of them coughed back to life.

“Where did you learn a jutsu like that missy?” he asked, frustrated but also curious.

“Oh, she’s just visiting,” Said Gai after gagging up some water. Before he could reply, the school bell rang and kids began running inside.

“I want to see you after class,” Is all he said before wrestling his way in front of the sea of children. “Let me through! Watch out, hey! You there! Quit it! Don’t give me that face! Do you even kiss you mother with that mouth! Get over here this instant!...”

“Sorry about that…” I said, regaining focus and kicking myself for blowing my low profile.

“Eh, it’s ok! We’ll have plenty of other opportunities for a challenge! Ones that, as my slave, you will have no way of avoiding, Kakashi!!!”

“Yeah sure, but Sam, that was a pretty high level jutsu you just pulled there, and without hand signs,”

“You know what they say, practice makes perfect!” Man, this was my worst excuse by far, but Kakashi seemed to buy it.

“Hm. Well, I can see how you already have a headband at this age,” I guess I should have left it off if I was going to the academy. Oh well, it felt kind of nice to have the respect of the ‘All Powerful Kakashi’ for once.

Walking back in, we sat back in the same spot, but this time Kakashi fought for a seat directly behind us. The class dragged on once again, but to pass the time the three of us passed notes. It was kind of fun seeing my teachers like this, and then again very strange. The last paper I received was from Kakashi. It said ‘You two run for it after class. I’ll make a diversion.’

Sure enough, before the bell rang, Kakashi volunteered to demonstrate the transformation jutsu. But instead of the flawless execution I would have expected, he simply filled the room with the smoke of a failed attempt. This must have been the diversion! Gai and me snuck out as quickly as possible and made a mad dash for his house.

We stormed in, out of breath, and collapsed onto the couch, laughing like crazy. It was when I looked up that a real surprise met my eyes. Dai was in the kitchen, cooking with a woman.

She was a few inches taller than him, but her face seemed younger. She also had two strips of blonde hair on either side of her face, the one on the right a good deal thicker than the other and they met on top of her forehead, framing her face in an upside down U. The rest of her hair hung down on her back and was cut a foot under her shoulders and she had deep brown eyes, the left one partially covered by the thicker hair strip. She wore a teal shirt with a short sleeved golden yellow vest on top that formed an X across her chest.

I felt like, no, I knew I had seen this woman before. Was she-? No, she couldn’t be Her. 

“Hey guys, looks like your home early! No battles with Kakashi today, Gai?” Asked Dai.

“Nope, he actually helped us out!” Answered Gai proudly as he recalled the events of the day.

“Really? Sounds interesting! Anyway, Sam, there is someone I want you to meet,” He said as the woman walked over. “Sam, this is Sand Takakami; Sand, this is Sam Hada,”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Said the woman. Her voice gave her away, coupled with the unique name of Sand Takakami, a clan name I shared.

“Mom?” I whispered under my breath.

“What was that?” She asked, and I tried to pull myself together.

“Oh, nothing, it’s just that you *sniff* remind me of, uh, someone,” by the end of my little cover-up, I was nearly bawling.

“Hm? Is it someone close?” I stifled out a quick yeah with a nod as Dai passed me a rag to wipe my face. I blew my nose. Come on, Jess! Pull yourself together! After I could finally speak again, my next goal would be to put the spotlight on someone else so I could get my bearings back.

“So, what’s your relationship?” I asked, eyeing Sand and Dai.

“Well, we have been together for a while,” started Dai.

“And there is something we want to ask you, Gai,” finished Sand, “How would you like it if we… Sam!”

Being caught in the moment, I didn’t realize that I was being sucked into a swirling black hole in the floor! Then, all three started to reach out for me.

“Don’t try to help me! You will get sucked in to! Don’t bother looking for me either, it isn’t possible for me to come back,” I realized that I would probably never see some of these people again, so I let out a solemn “Goodbye…” before the hole closed and I was again in the abyss…

While falling, I heard a voice. It was Tobi’s.

“Whoops! Looks like I still need some practice before executing the Moon’s Eye plan. But don’t worry, I will be back to perfect it!”

Then I hit the rocky ground with a solid thud. Woken up out of my daze with a good lick or three from Samehada, I looked around to find myself back at the playground.

“Hey buddy,” I said, stroking its spiked blade as it purred in its strange gurgling language.

On the way back home, the streets were completely empty; it must have been well past midnight. So, I decided to do a few quick training exercises. After handstand walking through a few streets, I tripped over a garbage can and fell flat on my face once again. This made quite a ruckus and looking over the heap of trash, I saw a face peeping out of the one still lit window. It was Gai, and the sudden sharp smell of curry confirmed that this was in fact his trash. Well, at least I knew I was back in current times, eh?

About a minute later he was out, helping me up. Though instead of the usual attire, he has on a simple white and black robe with dark pants. Let’s just say he should wear that more often…

“What in the world happened out here?” He asked curiously.

“Hm, it’s a long story.”

“I’ve got time,” So we went inside and I began to tell my tale, a little differently of course.

“Around an hour ago, I woke up to find Samehada trying to run away…” I continued and at this point, Samehada poked me in the back repeatedly until I got to the truthful part again. “And then on my way back, I crash landed into you trash because, well, you know how dark it gets out there.” Gai seemed to be buying it until he pointed out one detail.

“So, when did you raid Lee’s closet? Gosh, I didn’t realize there was such a big size difference between you two…” Looks like I forgot to cover up the fact that I was wearing HIS old clothes, now much too small. At least I somehow had my weights and sword back, all of these things were just about irreplaceable.

“You see, I forgot to do laundry this week and was in a pinch, so Lee gave me one of his old outfits thinking it would fit. Stupid me, I didn’t try it on in my rush to leave, so here we are…”  No more questions. Perfect. “Anyways, there is a question that has been egging me for a while,” Maybe a half hour at most. “But it’s kind of personal, so do you mind if I ask it?”

“I don’t know what it is, but ask away! I have nothing to hide here!” And as Gai said this, he lifted his arms for emphasis and then the belt on his robe came untied, opening it right up. “See what I mean,”

Knowing he didn’t mean to do that, we both laughed hysterically for a good while. After we finally simmered down, he tied his shirt back up and I asked the question. “What do you know about Sand Takakami?”

“Oh, her,” He said this with reverence and hate, love and disgust. It was a feat I had not thought possible. “Much like yours, it’s a bit of a long story,”

“Ahhh… Where to begin…” started Gai as I listened intently, ready to soak up every drop of information he gave me.

“My mother died when I was very young, so when Sand and my father started going out, she became the next best thing for me. Pretty soon, they decided that they were going to get married and, after that, I was told that a new sibling was on the way. The news was pretty shocking, but I was excited. I thought we could all make one big happy family. But then, right before the baby was due, things got bad.” He paused here again, and I braced myself for what was about to happen, knowing the harsh news already.

“During a mission I was on with my team when I was around, say, 13, we were confronted by nearly every member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. We were goners for sure, but then my father stepped in and went all the way to the eighth gate so we could escape and, well, I’m sure you know what happened next…” A tear welled up in his eye, but he blinked it away and continued.

“Sand blamed me for his death and grew bitter, casting me away. I never got to see the newborn baby, and she made sure of that. On many occasions I tried to get just a glimpse, a peek, but many a time was I caught in her signature quicksand traps. I didn’t know it’s name or even if I had a sister or a brother. It nearly killed me on the inside each and every time she caught me, and what made it worse is that she never screamed or yelled at me. Sand nearly looked disdainfully down at my drowning body and shook her head. Then she would release the justu, leaving me to dig myself out. She eventually passed on as well, but even her death wish stated that I never be told the identity of the child and that the child never knows about her brother.”

“That’s my only clue, Sand’s only mistake: Using the word ‘her’ in the will,”

Now I was quietly crying to myself. Could my mother have really been that cruel? The woman who raised and loved me. I couldn’t believe what I had just heard. But I guess this explained all the deep holes that the ‘bad man’ put in our yard late at night…

“You don’t have to cry for me, it’s my sob story after all, not yours,” Said Gai, trying to comfort me.

“No, it is,” On her deathbed, my mother made me swear to never reveal my clan name to anyone, and I now see why she made that desperate request.

Gai shook his head in disbelief with a confused expression on his face, “What do you mean?”

“Well, it looks like neither of us will keep up our end of the bargain. I never told you my full name, did I?”

“No, but many people don’t share their clan names because of its past or something. Why are we talking about this?”

“Don’t you get it, brother? I’m Jess Takakami!”

A tidal wave of emotion hit his face. First shock, then doubt. Next, an awkward laugh, and finally tears. What followed next was the longest embrace in the history of hugs. We cried and laughed and just could not believe what had just happened. When our bearings finally returned enough to speak, I let out a single warbled sentence.

“What is Lee going to think about this,”


	2. Trouble

"What!?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing! I just got out of the hospital two days ago, practically time traveled, and the Hokage wants me out again.

"Yes. I want you both to attempt the Chunin exams starting this week. Just fill out these papers."

"Thank you, my lady, but aren't the Chunin exams meant for teams of three?"

"Correct. I have a third shinobi I would like to go with you. Is that alright?"

"Of course, my lady,"

"Dismissed," With that, she let us leave with an exams application each.

"What do you think, sir Zetsu? Shall we engage in such an event?"

"Hmph. Don't mock me. I think the Hokage deserves the most respect, especially from someone with my background."

"Oh, thats right. You were just taken out of the bingo book this month,"

"Yeah, anyways, I think we should do it,"

"Hmmm..." I looked over the paperwork, what does that say? Risk of death and severe injury. What kind of test is this-

"Whoa, watch where you're going Zets- Oh! I'm so sorry about that!" I just walked right into another girl walking down the hall, causing her to drop a stack of papers. "Let me just grab those for you..."

"Oh, it's ok! Thanks,"

"Yeah, no problem! It was my fault anyways. Oh, I'm Jess,"

"Nice to meet you, I'm Tobi,"

"It's a pleasure! Oh crap. I just put my paper... in your stack..." Smooth one Jess. Smooth.

"Well, let's find it. What was the paper?"

"It was an exam application, like his. Oh yeah, this is Zetsu,"

"Hello Tobi, it's an honor to meet you," Zetsu gave her a small bow.

"Aww... You don't have to do that. Anyway, I'm sure it's a Jounin exam application, no?"

"Nope, chunin,"

"Really? I think you two look like you would be higher ranked by now,"

"You and me both sister," She gave a light laugh and flipped through her papers and pulled out the form.

"Here you go, see you around,"

"Thanks, see ya!"

"Goodbye,"

We continued along and when I turned around, I noticed Tobi went into the Hokage's office.

"Well, Zetsu, it looks like we will be going to the Chunin exams!"

"What? Chunin exams?" As soon as I said it, Lee, Neji, and Tenten walked by.

"Yeah, on Hokage's direct suggestion!"

"Oh, thats cool, I guess..." Lee seemed more disappointed than excited at the announcement. Whats up with him?

"Dude, what's up?"

"It's nothing really... I just... Oh, never mind," with that he ran off. Looks like I'll have to ask someone else about that.

"We should probably go chase him down..."

"You go do that Tenten," They went after him, and Zetsu just looked at me.

"What?"

"You are going to go talk to Gai aren't you?

"You know me so well,"

"I'll leave you to it. We literally have no food left, and it's my turn to go shopping anyway. You want something milld or spicy tonight?"

"Mild, I guess, see ya," As he walked away, I noticed an ANBU tracking him along the rooftops. You would think they would be more discrete about watching him. Well, that isn't my concern. I have something else to look into...

 

"So that's it, eh brother?" Looks like Lee hasn't had the best Chunin exam experience.

"Yeah, it wasn't too pretty, but he sure left his heart out on the field... Gave it everything he had! But the next time around, it was a different story!"

"Well, redemption always feels good,"

"Indeed! So, let's get you preparing immediately!!!"

"Why so eager?"

"Time is not of the essence! Most start to train years in advance for these exams, not days!"

"True... Then let us begin!" We left and headed towards the training grounds. The day was exceptionally cool but without a cloud in the sky. When we arrived, the pink haired girl was there with the Hokage. Great.

I toned out Gai's lecture about the third part of the exam and just watched. There were some large boulders sitting out in the open and the girl was starting to charge one. What a stupid opponent! The only thing you'll get from fighting a rock is bloody knuckles- Wait! The girl just smashed right through it!

"Not bad, but you could still use less chakra. Focus on condensing a little instead of forcing a lot of it to the area,"

"Yes, my lady," Time to have some fun... I saw which the girl charged and reinforced it through the ground with earth style, filling in cracks as they formed, preventing it from being crushed even though her fist was several feet into the boulder.

Whack! Something hit me on the backside of my head. Looking up, it was Gai.

"What was that?" He was trying to keep a low profile, but it was about to be blown. Luckily, a loud thump broke his concentration.

"What is wrong with you!" The Hokage had turned my boulder to dust in a single whack and stormed away, yelling at the girl through the whole forest.

"Go apologize," This came out so quietly that it barely registered in my mind.

"What? Are you trying to get me killed?"

"Do it!" Now, his voice was so sharp that it hit my ears like a blade, slicing through. I got up to run into the girl reentering the clearing.

"Hey, ahhh... Sorry about messing with your rock. That was completely uncalled for and-"

"Oh, no worries. Tsunade is always like that,"

"So... you’re not upset?"

"Nope,"

"Ohh kay..."

"Bye,"

"Yeah..." She grabbed her bag and headed back towards the village. I felt a hand rest on my shoulder.

"Now was that so hard?"

"Oh hush! And what is up with all the girls around here, shrugging everything off like it's nothing, hm? I mean, if I was in her placed, I would have punched me into next week!" I kicked the boulder as hard as I could and a shock of pain traveled up my leg. "Gah!" Next, I tried to punch it, suddenly determined, and had the same results. "Ugh!" Maybe if I tried another angle... Nope! That's it! I pulled my orange sleeve down and ripped the weight off of my right arm.

"Rahhh!!!" A cloud of dust rose up from where the rock used to be and my fist was imbedded in the dirt, coated in wet sand sticking to my arm.

I turned to see 'we start tomorrow' scrawled in the earth behind me and looked down to see most of the skin ripped off of my knuckles. Standing up, I grabbed the weight and headed home, both furious at the world and myself.

Walking home, I realized how much of an idiot I was. Gai offered to help me out, and instead I just messed with the girl who tended to me in the hospital's training. Only a total screw up would do that, so I guess I must be one of them. Oh great, look who it is.

"Hey!"

"Hi Lee,"

"What's up... Wait a second! Why are you so upset?" He seemed concerned.

"Oh, it's nothing..."

"Ok," Then, Lee noticed my hand, "Hang on! That's not nothing!" 

"I just had a little accident, that’s all,"

"Some little accident! Your going to get your hand infected if you leave it out, take this," He pulled out a roll of white bandages and held out his hand, motioning for me to hand mine over. I sighed and held it up, realizing just how bad it hurt.

"Lee, I really don't deserve this,"

He looked shocked at the notion. "What! You deserve just as much medical care as anyone else here!"

"No, I mean I don't deserve... This, you being nice and all,"

"Ok, who am I talking to and could you please tell me where Jess went?" 

"Ahhh... Very funny, ow!"

"Sorry!" Lee nearly dropped the bandages he was holding.

"No, your fine, keep going."

"...There! All done!"

"Thanks!" I patted the top of his head and as I pulled my left hand back, a saliva bridge was formed. "Oh crap, I guess I'll have to get this sealed up..."

"What? Oh, don't worry about that," We just laughed it off, but it really was quite gross. Seeing that I still hadn't cracked the code to clay bombs, the best option might just be to seal the left hand shut. Tenzo sensei knows seals, right? "Anyways, Jess, I was wondering if you had any, uh, lunch plans today?" He gave a large smile and was rubbing his arm, staring me right in the eyes.

"Well, it's your lucky day because my schedule just cleared up!"  We joked around while walking towards the BBQ place, just like old times, but there seemed to be a slight shift in mood when we arrived. As always, I sat on the same side of the booth as Lee so we could share, but this seemed to attract some attention, especially from a table where another blonde girl sat with a pineapple headed and chubby boy. The girl literally pinched herself after pineapple pointed us out. Chubby nearly swallowed his pork without chewing.

"So, should we get the usual?" Lee gently nudged me with his elbow and I nodded. Neither of us even touched the menu, knowing the order by heart. But, the order arrived with a little something extra- a small heart shaped cake.

"A gift from the corner booth," added the waiter as he set it down. It was Those three, hm?

"So, they think it's a date, eh?" How cute of them.

"Yeah, I guess so. I bet the cake will be good!"

"Indeed," Who cares what the merry matchmakers think, I plan to have a good lunch with my best friend and most certainly won't let them ruin it. And a little free cake never hurt anyone.

"Hey bushy brow!" A blonde boy in an orange and black jacket walked by our table, apparently trying to talk to Lee, but calling him 'bushy brow'. How rude!

"Hi, Naruto,"

"Who's the chick?"

"Oh, this is Jess,"

"Hey. Nice catch bushy brow, now you can stop being weird and chasing Sakura," Naruto started to walk away, but I had to set something straight. I reached across the table, grabbing the back of his jacket.

"Never call Lee that again, or else you'll have to deal with me," I uttered this as calmly as I could and Naruto's face turned bright red. Then, he erupted with laughter.

"Do you not think I am serious about this, parking cone?!" I then realized what was so funny. Lee had been reaching for the soy sauce on the other side of the table as I reached for Naruto and had pinned his arm, now frozen much like the rest of him, under my chest. Perfect. I stood up and grabbed Naruto's neck, biting him as I squeezed just enough to shut him up.

"Now, how about we keep on walking and keep the derogatory nicknames to a minimum ok?"

"Mmm hmm"

"Thank you," I let go and sat back down. As Naruto quickly walked away, I could have sworn he whispered "Careful, bushy brow, she's a biter,"

I nearly got up and killed him, but Lee did something much more effective, "That's not my name," Pure poetry.

"Come on, dude, you need to stand up for yourself,"

"I know, but it's just Naruto."

"Hm, just Naruto? Meh, just don't let it bother you. And, for your information, I think your eyebrows are perfect!"

"Awww... Yours as well, and your hair, and eyes, and everything else,"

"Really?" I couldn't help but hug him and we sat extra close throughout the rest of lunch, which was nice with there being a sudden chill in the air. 

After eating to the point of bursting due two four plates of meat, three shrimp skewers, and half a heart cake, I insisted we split the bill, making sure the others saw me place down my coins.

"That was delicious!" Lee exclaimed as we walked out, followed by the three gift-givers whose girl stopped us outside.

"Hey, are you two, like, an item or something, because, girl, just letting you know that there are other men in the village. And this one is quite energeti-" I stopped her there. Time to play some Konan-level head games.

"No, well, not yet anyways. You know, most good relationships start with friendship, but I guess someone like yourself must just dive in headfirst, dating a dude because he winked at you and looks hot. And secondly, don't judge people just because they have a few quirks. I bet you didn't know Lee remembers just about every date and has never missed a birthday. I mean, the kid even remembers the day we met!"

"It was a Tuesday..."

"See what I mean! And I'm sorry if he isn't up to your standards of beauty miss princess, but he will be twice the partner someone of your caliber will ever be!" That’s when I lost it. I reached over, grabbed Lee's hand, and stormed off, racing straight home.

I walked straight past Zetsu and plopped down on the couch, pulling Lee down with me.

"Well, that was just great! And I thought today could not get any worse, but nope! It did! What are we going to do! Gah!"

Lee squeezed one of my hands and Zetsu rubbed my shoulders. "Ahh... Don't sweat it, I'm sure whatever happened wasn't that bad."

"No, it really wasn't, Jess,"

"I suppose, but what are we going to do?"

"Just act like today never happened, I guess," There was a hint of disappointment in Lee's voice, but he was trying to make it better for me, not himself.

"Maybe I... Maybe I, uhm, kinda am glad it did," I looked up and saw Lee's face light up like Christmas. "But, I stand by what I said, so let's ride this out and see where our friendship takes us."

"Great!" We hugged for a little while then just talked, carrying out our lunch conversation and helped Zetsu put everything he bought away. A while later, after a dinner of vegetable soup, Lee left, and Zetsu and myself cleaned up.

"Sounds like you had quite the day,"

"Yeah, it sure was,"

"Then, let's finish up and get plenty of rest for tomorrow. We should start gathering intel on the exams, no?"

"Sounds like a plan!" 

 


	3. Exams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rather than writing the whole exams, my very lazy self decided to instead skip ahead and reflect back on it. 
> 
> After heading to the arena is when this becomes 100% new content! Wow!   
> I can not promise it will be anything spectacular or ground breaking seeing there has been nearly a 5 year gap in my touching these characters and stories, but I will do my best to wrap things up according to original plan!~

"Wake up, the listings should be posted and I'm sure you are just as curious as I am," I awoke to a gentle rapping on the door and Zetsu's soft voice.

"Alright, I will be there in a minute," I rolled out of bed, sore in more places than I thought possible, going to the bathroom to apply cream on my various burns and cuts. They had better passed me as I was not about to go through such torture again!

Walking down the street, I remembered the first stage of the exams. A boy had proctored an exam in which I could answer none of the questions. Although cheating would get you kicked out, I could not fail and sent a wood clone through the floor and into the intel department to do research. She even passed by the previous proctor, Ibiki, without anyone suspecting a thing. In fact, I even ran into Zetsu down there and we worked together, relaying the answers to Tobi, our third team member. It all turned out to be a hoax, with the passing grade being that you simply did not drop out. But at least we came up with a good plan!

Next was the survival phase. Such fun. The first day, we encountered some mist ninja who happened to have an acid user with them. Zetsu held them off as I fled with Tobi and the scroll, losing his shirt to the corrosive substance. Later that night, they came back on Tobi's watch, forcing her to reveal her true potential- as a shifter, she is able to transform into a beautiful, huge white wolf, swallowing the scroll, buying enough time for me to trap both her and a sleeping Zetsu into a wood dome. I then captured all three in water prisons until they gave up the scroll. One suffocated to death and the other lost consciousness because the third was resilient, not handing over their earth scroll until eleven minutes had passed. Luckily, Tobi had swallowed the heaven scroll and we could begin the long trek back to the central tower.

On the second night, after setting up camp, Tobi said something that stuck with me.

"In old battlefields, poppies grow." she simply stated, eyes mirroring the dancing hues from the lively fire.

"Thats nice, care to elaborate further?"

The shifter lifted her sterling gaze toward the questioning crowd. "I used to have this friend...he..we didn't exactly click at first." tightly managing her words. "He had this thing, a love for destruction. And it wasn't a secret that I wasn't a fan. Anytime I was around when he was 'expressing himself' I would catch him stealing quick glances at me. At first, I wasn't sure why, and honestly thought it strange. Maybe he wanted to just see my reaction."

Tobi nervously scratched at her cheek, her chest tightened and breathing seemed more difficult, speaking of him carried burdens of nostalgic memories. "But" she carried on, "I was only looking at it from my point of view, my perspective you know? Well, we grew close, and finally I gained enough courage to confront him about it. His response surprised me." She gazed out towards the surrounding scenery. "'In old battlefields, poppies grow.'" repeating the introduction of her story. Tobi's continence carried thoughtful expression; the deep thought and wonder glimmering through her eyes. "To this day, I'm still not entirely sure what he meant, but it made me feel...more accepting of his art-form! It's like out with the old, and in with the new! So that's why he likes getting rid of the old! That's just my interpretation." Happy feelings arose, dissipating previous nervousness and discomfort, because remembering her old friend is nice.

"I sure do miss him..."

"Well, sounds like a lovely relationship," Said Zetsu, genuinely interested. "I hope you will be able to see him again,"

The story moved me, but my attention was moved elsewhere. "Guys, we have company"

Suddenly, a masked sound village girl jumped down from the highest branches, it was cat girl. And then it came, the endless feline onslaught. Zetsu took on the main horde fighting with sharp roots erupting from the ground, with Tobi taking on the larger ones in her shifter form, allowing me to get in close quarters with the girl. But as I brought Samehada down, she summoned the giant twenty foot cat, now clad in armor. She wasn't the only one with a trump card, though. Gathering a mass of chakra, I lured them away from the main fight and created the Wood Dragon, constricting the cat and crushing it's armor. Wood Dragon took major damage from the reinforced claws and was eventually broken in two, but had performed it's job as the cat was covered in deep gashes. Now, what do cats and cuts both hate- salt water! Exploding water shock wave finished the job, and I was sure to direct some of the mass towards Zetsu. Immobilized by the pain, the huge cat was rendered useless and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

I bolted back to the others to find Tobi hanging in a tree by her teeth and Zetsu holding onto her back. She jumped down with a graceful leap.

 

"Get on, I say the faster we get back the better," I gingerly climbed onto her back, which was speckled with claw marks, and we ran off, arriving at the tower in under an hour.

Continuing towards the meeting place, Zetsu took a detour to his favorite organic market to pick up the more rare items that were freshest this time of the month. Browsing the herbs, I cringed as flashbacks of the final stage of the exams attacked my consciousness. This was the most difficult round as it was simply a battle royale of all remaining candidates, noting the burns on my hands as Zetsu approached with his bag of produce.

"It's a shame Tobi won't be coming, she proved to be quite powerful."

"Yes, but the battle rounds were against her beliefs. The only reason she even shifted was to protect us, you know. And if the hokage wasn't desperate for a third member, I do not think Tobi would have ever even touched the exams. We both owe her a great many thanks for helping us out."

"I agree with you one hundred percent. To start, I think we should get these for her," I noted, picking up a small planter with purple tulips.

"It's a start. Now then, let's continue as the results will be announced in... Five minutes."

"That's it! Time to get a move on!" With that, we dashed towards the arena.

There was little pomp or circumstance, merely a paper nailed to wooden doors. Fellow hopefuls swarmed the page.

“Looks like the budget for a ceremony was blown.” I joked, Zetsu merely shrugged.

After fighting my way to the front of the line, I scanned down the list. Not me, not me, not me… There were a surprising number of promotions, seems the villages are really getting desperate.

Finally, at the bottom of the page I saw it: Jess Takakami! 

With a joyful cheer I lept into the air, running back to Zetsu. “I passed!!” I proclaimed.

He nodded with a warm smile. “I would expect nothing less from you.”

“Wait a second… You were not listed! And you did better than me!”

Zetsu merely shrugged, “It was not in the cards for me.”

“No, but something else is.”

I gasped, that Shikamaru guy had snuck up behind me!

“What do you want?” I grumbled.

“Not me, the hokage. She wants to see Zetsu now, so you better get going.”

I eyed him suspiciously. “Alright.”

“It is my pleasure to see her.” Zestu said, heading that way. This was incredibly fishy.

In the office, however, was another familiar face. “Yamato sensei!” I said gleefully, embracing my teacher in a big hug.

“Good to see you too.” He said softly with a small smile as I pulled back.

Lade Tsunade coughed, getting out attention.

“Jess, I do not think any of us realized just what gift you had brought to us until after the exams.”

I cocked my head, confused. “Gift? What?”

“Your friend Zetsu is, much like Yamato, a cell-for-cell clone of the first Hokage.”

Yamato and Zetsu locked eyes and melted into a look of understanding.

“Zetsu, I hereby promote you to the ANBU Black Ops to serve alongside Yamato. Your code name shall be…” She paused, assessing the room around her for inspiration.

“Twinson.”

This was all happening far too fast. “ANBU as in, always away on secret missions on ANBU?” I asked dazedly.

Zetsu places a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “It is nothing I can not handle. It will be an honor to assume this position lady Hokage.”

I turned to him, feeling a warm tear forming in my eye. “No, no! You can’t leave me! Not with _her_ out there still!”

The hokage sighed, rising from her desk. “Jess, you will not be alone. I also wanted to tell you of your new assignment.”

Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself.

“Due to clan… issues outside of my control Neji will be leaving Team Guy for an unknown length of time. You will be filling his role.”

This was indeed good news, but still a bit much for me to process. “Oh. Ok, thank you.”

Seeing I was still upset, Zetsu thanked the Hokage again and escorted me out of the office.

“You can’t join ANBU…” I said dumbly.

“I must act according to the will of the leaf village and its hokage now. You know this just as well as I.”

“I know… Does not mean I like it.”

“Hey now.” He flashed a kind grin, looking into my eyes warmly. “You get to be back on your old team, that’s something to celebrate.”

I nodded. “As usual you are right.”

“We should go break the news.”

“After you, then.”


End file.
